Ottawa County judge denies new trial for double-murderer Ryan Wyngarden

Monday

Jun 2, 2014 at 10:10 PM

By Jim.Hayden@hollandsentinel.com(616) 546-4274

An Ottawa County judge denied convicted double-murderer Ryan Wyngarden’s request for a new trial, saying part of his claim took “breath-taking chutzpah” to present.Despite the denial by circuit court Judge Jon Hulsing on Monday, a case for the state Court of Appeals is still progressing, according to David Hall, a defense attorney for Wyngarden.Hall cited several reasons for a new trial, including evidence presented was not adequate to convict his client and that the investigation in 1987 and 1988 was inadequate in confirming Wyngarden’s alibi.“Cumulatively, this has the effect of denying a fair trial,” Hall told the judge.Wyngarden, 51, was found guilty on March 28 of two counts of first degree premeditated murder for the 1987 shooting deaths of his sister Gail and her husband Rick Brink in their Park Township home.Wyngarden was not in the courtroom Monday. He is in the Saginaw Correctional Facility in Freeland serving a life prison term. The 43-acre facility includes a double 12-foot fence topped with razor-ribbon wire, according to the Department of Corrections website. There are two gun towers, around-the-clock recording of inmate activity and a vehicle with armed personnel patrolling the perimeter 24 hours a day.The prosecutors said Wyngarden killed the couple because he was jealous of the pair and didn’t want it known that he had sex with his sister Gail.In the defense’s request for a new trial, Hall said the “so-called sexual jealousy” didn’t exist.“There was an extreme prejudicial effect of that testimony,” Hall said.Hulsing said Wyngarden admitted to the sexual contact and that he told his then-girlfriend that sexual jealousy was a motive for the killings.Hulsing also told the defense that there was sufficient evidence, including Wyngarden’s confession to his girlfriend and eventual wife, Pam.No gun was ever located. No fingerprints, footprints or DNA from Wyngarden were found at the murder scene. There were no witnesses to the crime.Hulsing said the investigators at the time looked into many leads, including a possible link to drugs and a motorcycle gang out of Detroit.Throughout the three-week trial, Wyngarden questioned why police at the time did not investigate his alibi that he was doing laundry and watching children when the murders occurred.“If detectives just talked to the alibi witnesses, we wouldn’t be here today,” Hall said.During the trial, the alibi witnesses could not recall specifics about the night of the murder.Hulsing said Wyngarden lied to police in 1987 and 1988 about his alibi and intimidated Pam Wyngarden to support his story, adding Wyngarden showed “breath-taking chutzpah” to complain police didn’t interview him about a made-up alibi.— Follow Jim Hayden on Twitter@SentinelJim.